Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) was the food purchasing assistance program in place in the United States after the passage of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 on 22 May 2008, replacing and renaming the food stamps program and replacing the terms "stamp" and "coupon" with "card" and "EBT". SNAP benefits temporarily increased with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, a stimulus bill that helped Americans affected by the Great Recession. Companies such as Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Kroger, Walmart, and Kraft Foods lobbied in support of SNAP, as many of their customers used EBT cards. By 2015, the state/county with the highest percentage of SNAP users was Washington DC (22%), with New Mexico having the same amount; Mississippi followed with 21%. The highest percentage of SNAP users by county included the Kusilvak Census Area of Alaska; Owsley County, Kentucky; and Oglala Lakota County, North Dakota, each with 49%. SNAP participation hit an all-time high due to the Great Recession, and it cost $70,900,000,000 in 2016 to feed 44,200,000 Americans.